Gay slave owners
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In some cultures, same-sex relationships were accepted or integrated into spiritual and social practices, while others strictly regulated sexual behaviors.
The Middle Passage
The brutal conditions of the Middle Passage—where enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas—created an environment of extreme deprivation and exploitation.
During the era of slavery, same-sex relationships and behaviors existed but were shaped by the socio-economic, cultural, and power dynamics of the time. Clifton, 349.
7. This article delves into the historical context, examining how homosexuality manifested, was perceived, and how it intersected with the institution of slavery.
Understanding the Context of Slavery and Sexuality
Slavery Across Cultures
Slavery existed in various forms across the world, from the transatlantic slave trade to ancient civilizations in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Accounts suggest that same-sex interactions, whether consensual or coercive, occurred during this period.
Homosexuality in the Americas During Slavery
Plantation Systems
- Same-Sex Relationships Among Enslaved People: Enslaved individuals often formed close bonds with others of the same sex.
Part I. Life as a Slave. Yet at least in some cases, African American males did not allow their deprivations to temper their activities. Clifton, 346-347.
3. As Mary Johnson reported, “My brother Robert was a powerful big boy and he wasn’t allowed to have no pants until he was 21 years old, but that didn’t discourage him from courting the gals.
. Understanding this history enriches our perspective on the complexities of human relationships and the enduring impact of slavery on societal attitudes toward sexuality.
Related
To shed light on same-sex experiences of American slaves, author Charles Clifton suggests re-reading narratives written by former slaves.
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Copyright © AAIHS. Charlie Hudson explained that in “Winter time they give children new cotton and wool mixed shirts what come down to their ankles. When the weather was too cold, they sometimes give us pants.”Indeed, some of the enslaved were not even allowed pants during the freezing winters.
can, and does, develop all its malign and shocking characteristics . Clifton, 347.
4. Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom. without apprehension or fear of exposure.”[5]
Clifton observes “in these passages a familiarity with same-sex relations on the part of the authors.”[6] He remarks that there are many “unchartered areas of research” within “the realm of slave sexuality.”[7] An unbiased “attempt to read…what was not overtly articulated” may unearth relationships that “are not necessarily heterosexual.”[8]
Sources
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According to scores of interviews with the formerly enslaved, denying black boys and young men the right to wear pants was a relatively widespread practice throughout the Deep South.
This custom certainly becomes even more interesting when slaveholders’ beliefs about slave breeding and the virility of young “bucks” is taken into consideration.
. While Islamic law generally condemned homosexual acts, historical accounts suggest that relationships between male enslavers and young male slaves occurred, often reflecting power imbalances rather than consensual connections.
Ancient and Indigenous Societies
Some indigenous cultures that practiced forms of slavery had more fluid understandings of gender and sexuality.